Columbia Falls, the northwestern region’s No. 1 seed, defeated Corvallis 61-44 in a lopsided first-round victory at the Class A State Boys Basketball Tournament in Great Falls on Thursday afternoon. The Wildcats entered the game riding a four-game win streak, including victories in both of their games at the Northwestern A divisional tournament in late February.
With the win, the Wildcats advance to face Browning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night in the tournament’s semifinals. Browning defeated Laurel 82-64 Thursday afternoon. Columbia Falls and Browning have won a combined six out of the eight last Class A state championships, with each team bringing home three apiece. Browning beat Butte Central 72-52 in last year’s state championship.
The tournament is held at ExpoPark in Great Falls from Thursday through Saturday. Whitefish plays tonight at 8 p.m. against Dillon. I will continue to update both Columbia Falls and Whitefish’s progress throughout the weekend. You can see all of the tourney’s results by clicking on this bracket.